STAR WARS: Knights of the Old Republic

Chapter 26

Revan and Malak descended through a tangle of branches and vines. The jungle howled and shrieked around them. It had been a long and grueling descent through the giant wroshyr trees. Their robes were dirty and tattered. Now, they neared the forest floor- the Shadowlands.

Revan let himself drop the last few meters to land on the soft damp ground. Mud and water splashed around his feet at the impact. Malak followed suit landing behind him a few moments later. Revan held up a small ancient-looking device that seemed to resemble some sort of compass. He consulted it before starting off through the jungle.

"We are nearing the end of this path," Malak said.

"There are no paths down here," Revan replied, his voice distorted through the mask.

"I meant our journey to uncover the secrets of the Rakatan."

"No," Revan said, consulting the compass again, "It is just beginning."

Just then, the bushes and foliage began to stir and hiss around them, as if calling out the intruders. The two former Jedi ignited their lightsabers, casting the darkness in a blue glow just as several large wyyyschokk spiders crawled out of the bushes and surrounded them.

The spiders edged in closer, hissing and snapping their mandibles at them. One of them lunged forward, aiming to strike. Revan easily sidestepped the large creature and with a precise swipe of his blade, chopped off several of it's legs. The massive spider screamed in pain as it was lifted into the air and thrown backwards crashing into another lunging wyyyschokk.

Malak had leapt onto the back on the spider closest to him and had jammed the blue blade of his lightsaber deep into the back of the creature. He let himself drop off the back of the creature and let his momentum cause the blade the slice down the creature as he fell. The wyyyschokk fell to the ground, dead.

Three more had surrounded Revan, hissing and snapping at him, but he stood his ground. The ground rumbled beneath him as the Force swirled around him. He stretched out his hands on either side of him and let out a large blast of power that swept out in a radius around him.

The three spiders went flying backwards through the air smashing into rocks and the roots of the large trees that populated the planet. Their hard shells cracked and splintered on impact, oozing a pungent green blood.

They continued on through the jungle, using their lightsabers to cut through a sense tangle of vines and vegetation. They crossed a small stream, unfazed by the tachs, small monkey-like creatures, that hopped and paced around the flowing current. The whole planet was alive and full of energy, it was strong in the Force.

Revan stopped, looking around, and consulted his compass.

"We are almost there," he said.

'Yes, I feel it. It's nearby," Malak said.

They approached a large tangle of vines and roots that blocked their way. They began slicing through them with their lightsabers, clearing themselves a path. They stopped when they saw a smooth metallic surface reflecting the glow of their lightsabers back at them.

They carefully used their lightsabers to clear away some more of the vines and roots that were obscuring the large object. As they cleared away the blockage, they realized it was some sort of crashed spacecraft.

"It doesn't look like any ship or freighter I've ever seen," Malak commented.

"It's of an ancient design," Revan replied. "Who knows how long it's been here."

There was an access panel next to what appeared to be a cargo bay door. Revan tapped the panel and to their surprise it lit up.

"The star map is just beyond this door," Revan said, "I can feel it."